Wise Owls Nursery

Located in the bustling town of Moffat, Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club opened its doors in early 2019 with an aim to provide childcare for local children and families which incorporates a home from home environment.

The journey to initiating Wise Owls began after the closure of another childcare centre took place in the local area, leaving the demand for a business of its kind higher than ever before.

It was from this that local woman, Catherine Jackson, decided to utilise her knowledge, gained through a career as a Speech and Language Therapist, to launch Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club which would help provide children and families with a unique experience during early years care and education.

To realise her ambitions, Catherine required working capital and after looking at various funding options, she successfully secured a £50,000 loan from Business Loans Scotland (BLS), which helped support the business through its initial start-up phase.

Fully funded through the Scottish Growth Scheme and the European Regional Development Fund (EDF), BLS offer loans from £25,000 to £100,000 for new and growing Scottish SMEs and aim to ensure that good, commercially viable proposals don't fail from a lack of access to finance.

"Having just set up Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club in Moffat, I was struggling to find a company that was willing to lend me the money needed to help support me through the year when Dumfries and Galloway decided not to fund new childcare providers until 2020” said Catherine Jackson, Founder of Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club.

She added:

“Although the process was fairly lengthy, it was very thorough and I was supported to make the correct funding decisions. I literally wouldn't have been able to get set up and get through this year without the support of Business Loans Scotland and I'm very grateful that they exist."

Fund Manager for Business Loans Scotland, Andrew Dickson said:

“I am delighted that Business Loans Scotland has been able to support Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club with loan finance to start up and grow the business. This loan helps to demonstrate our passion and commitment for supporting Scottish SMEs with the working capital they require to fulfil their growth aspirations. I look forward to watching Wise Owls Nursery and Out of School Club prosper and would encourage any SMEs in Dumfries & Galloway looking for access to finance to speak with the team at Business Loans Scotland to see how we can help.”